Buck: ‘There is light at the end of the tunnel’

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck receives his chemotherapy treatment Friday while at the University of Colorado Health’s Cancer Care and Hematology Center in Greeley. Buck announced in March that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma and had started treatment.

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Ken Buck glances up at the chemotherapy drugs Friday while at the University of Colorado Health’s Cancer Care and Hematology Center in Greeley. This will be Buck's fourth treatments.

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Ken Buck smiles after being hooked up to a heart monitor Friday morning during his chemotherapy treatment at University of Colorado Health’s Cancer Care and Hematology Center in Greeley.

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Even as he sat in a Greeley treatment center connected to the machine that would deliver his fourth round of chemotherapy, Weld District Attorney Ken Buck chatted, smiled and cracked jokes, showing no signs of backing down in his battle with cancer.

That resilient nature and sense of humor — along with a wealth of support and his faith in God — are what Buck and his family say got him through the stage-four lymphoma diagnosis and the days that followed. Now, as his doctors say the cancer is in remission, Buck and his family are thankful for the good news, and they want others to hold on to hope as they have.

“I am more appreciative of every minute that I have, and I think if people can focus on those kinds of positives, they’re going to be much happier with their treatments,” Buck said.

Buck was recovering from hip surgery when he started experiencing extreme flu symptoms. Lumps on his neck began to grow, and he and his family knew something wasn’t right. After some tests, doctors told the Buck family Ken had stage-four, non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Ken’s wife, Perry, said she was in denial the first time she heard her husband had cancer, but after talking with doctors a second time, she broke down.

“It was one of those gut punches,” she said. “I dropped to my knees. It just shattered my world.”

Daughter Kaitlin said she never would have imagined that her father would go through cancer.

“He’s so strong, and he’s so powerful, and he’s a prosecutor, and he has this aura about him of being indestructible,” said Kaitlin, 22. “It was just humbling.”

Ken said the prognosis wasn’t good, but it could have been worse. He said he knew the outcome was ultimately in God’s hands, and he was at peace with that.

“What bothered me was the people I would leave behind here and the difficulty they would have in trying to make that adjustment,” he said.

Perry said when it came time to start chemotherapy in March, Ken rose to the challenge.

“He gets that lawyer attitude to where, (he says) ‘Bring it on, I can handle it,’ ” she said. “I would like to say that cancer picked the wrong body to mess with.”

Perry, a newly elected state representative, was in the Legislature for much of the time her husband was undergoing treatment.

“I think the hardest, most devastating thing that I’ve ever had in my life was to be down at the Legislature and not being able to be with Ken,” Perry said tearfully.

Having graduated early from Clemson University, Kaitlin moved home and stepped in to help her dad through his battle. Ken and Perry said having Kaitlin around was invaluable.

“She is very strong,” Perry said. “She is just like her dad. I’m just honored to have them both in my life.”

Humor was a big part of getting by for the Buck family. Kaitlin and her brother, Cody, who’s serving in the Army, shaved Ken’s head into a Mohawk — a symbol that he’s a warrior.

“You’ve got to find the lighter side of such a tough situation, and that’s what they did,” Perry said.

Kaitlin said her dad would come home from treatments, exhausted but still joking about going on a jog.

“It’s really strange because the treatments that are supposed to make him better have to bring him to the verge of death,” she said. “It’s hard to watch that because he’s getting sicker and sicker.”

Kaitlin said she and her dad became like “roomies.” She fixed meals, and the two often watched cooking shows on TV together.

“You’re so used to your parents being the strong figures in your life, and it turned into me cooking and helping him,” Kaitlin said. “It kind of made me feel better because it was a little bit of payback. Finally I get to do something for the rock of the family.”

Kaitlin said she was amazed at all of the people who brought food to their home, and the family couldn’t have been more grateful.

“I think through this I’ve realize that he has surrounded himself with the most phenomenal people,” Kaitlin said.

Ken said he was overwhelmed at the amount of support he received from friends, family members and acquaintances. He said the kindness, food and prayers made a huge difference in his recovery.

“Part of the downside of being a prosecutor is we see the worst sides of our culture, of our society,” Ken said. “After 25 years of seeing the worst side, I really saw the best side of people and how they interacted with me and supported me.”

Ken said he deeply appreciates the doctors who helped him and the nurses who cared for him through hours-long chemotherapy sessions.

“I just want to thank the doctors and the nurses,” he said. “The nurses in the oncology unit are so kind. They see some really tough things every day, and they’re so upbeat and just great people.”

With a positive prognosis and two chemotherapy treatments left to ensure the cancer is completely gone from his blood, Ken said he looks back and sees blessings coming from even the scariest of circumstances. Time spent with his family and time to reflect on his life, he said, were the silver linings that helped strengthen his relationships. He hopes sharing his outlook on his own battle will help others who face the same fight.

“Now I’m much more comfortable saying to someone, ‘I’m so sorry. I’ve been there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel,’ ” he said.

Part of the downside of being a prosecutor is we see the worst sides of our culture, of our society. After 25 years of seeing the worst side, I really saw the best side of people and how they interacted with me and supported me. — Ken Buck, Weld County district attorney